The Toilet of the Future

Dyno-Rod is on a mission to change the British toilet. The UK’s largest plumbing and Drains Company has tasked up-and-coming designers from CSM to create a new design for the domestic toilet, challenging the concept of the toilet as we know it.

The initiative, commissioned by Dyno-Rod Drains company as part of their 50th anniversary, aims to raise awareness on how we can upgrade the current 130 year old flush toilet to one that benefits our health and the environment.

The three graduates: Pierre Papet (MA Industrial Design), Victor Johansson (MA Industrial Design) and Samuel Sheard, were challenged to create a toilet that met selected criteria of sustainability, a toilet that is more eco-friendly and a toilet that is better for our health and wellbeing – as well as benefitting the environment and looking at key saving elements such as water waste.

The designs will be judged by a panel of design experts, including Wayne Hemingway – Red or Dead founder and now owner of a multi-disciplinary design agency and Cliff Huxley, Senior Dyno-Rod Engineer.

The winning toilet will be revealed on world toilet day, Tuesday 19 November, during a special reveal event in the Windows Gallery, King’s Cross, CSM.

[...] Day (November 18 — how quickly you forget!). Their design won a U.K. plumbing company’s contest to create The Toilet of the Future. The other designs were uglier and more complicated; theirs [...]

[...] Day (November 18 — how quickly you forget!). Their design won a U.K. plumbing company’s contest to create The Toilet of the Future. The other designs were uglier and more complicated; theirs [...]

Jonathan1086 December 2013

I’m afraid that these designers have made a big mistake. Sitting with your feet propped up is not squatting. The ergonomic squatting position puts the body’s full weight on the feet. All infants automatically assume this posture. Yes, I know that the elderly will never be able to squat, but that’s no reason to force young, flexible people to behave like old, decrepit ones. A toilet has already been designed that allows the elderly to continue sitting (with or without a footstool) and also allows flexible people to really squat. It’s called an “anglo-indian” toilet, and you can see one here: http://naturesplatform.com/images/anglo-indian-pan.gif .
Learn why genuine squatting is far superior to just elevating your feet at http://www.naturesplatform.com/faq.html#footstools

Ed Jones7 December 2013

No sure I understand the concept. How about some models demonstrating how to sit, and stand so as to urinate without dripping on the pedestal?

ed goldbergsteinowitz7 December 2013

Why don’t they make a pill to take prior to taking a dump that loosens all the stool in your colon and then have a vacuum hose hanging by the toilet that sucks all the shit out your asss? Why not?

Francis A. Young7 December 2013

Alas, with the demise of the toilet as we know it today, we lose two institutionalized words of American English. “Crapper,” the last name of the man who invented the general design we have used for a century (Thomas Crapper), and “crap,” which has been used as an expression of frustration, derision, ineffectiveness, feces and more. Immortalized by the character Frank Barone, the father on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “holy crap!” also bites the dust. “Holy toilet” or “you’re full of toilet” just doesn’t have the same gravitas. Think about it: we will no longer be able to “dial” a phone to call someone to tell they’re a piece of “crap!”

As a handicapped person, I think the judges picked the wrong one (Concept 3. The squat toilet is completely absurd if you want to appeal to the masses, especially in the developed world. Maybe in China or Indonesia, but not the US or UK.

Cosmetically and functionally, I like Concept #1. It looks more like the toilet we’ve been using, and could conceivable become the standard, but again — the handicapped issue. Many people couldn’t bend their knees 130 degrees, which looks to be what it requires.

I’m assuming Concept #2 has those additional two holes for the purpose of mounting the seat higher. (IBC says 15″ height for standard, 17″ for accessibility.) This would make perfect sense, although I question the need for running two lines; it would make sense to enable adjustment of the seat by a couple of additional mounting holes and all it would take is the addition of a couple of gate valves.

With a few adjustments to the design (mostly footprint), of that huge monstrosity of a tank, I could see this one catching on. And what is that ridiculous grain-silo looking thing on the left? With that added on, this would be bigger than some bathrooms could handle.

Just sayin’

rama7 December 2013

squat toilets are tough on your knees for people with knee joint problems!

Lynne Gaither7 December 2013

I am fused T5 to L4 for Scoliosis & when I have back pain, which is often at age 56. I’m 30 years post-op, which is 15 to 20 years after the normal age if the surgery. I chose to wait, hoping they would improve the surgery, which didn’t happen unt 7 years later. ANYWAY, I have figured out the position of the toilet I’m on really does effect my ability to have a full bowel movement without pain. As I’ve aged it has gotten to be a REAL problem. Sometimes it keeps me awake, because I need to have a bowel movement & can’t & that also increases the back pain. I’m about to buy something called “the Squatty Potty”, which you put in front of the toilet & put your feet on. Among the problems with my back, this is a TOP reason to have further surgery to take my spine from straight to the natural curves in the spine, especially in the lumbar regin. PLEASE consider me & my home as a test subject. PLEASE continue to push for improvements for health reasons.
Much thanks & gratitude.

George Balow8 December 2013

How do u use it?

Vicky Caddick8 December 2013

On concept #3 Good principle on the half leaning/squatting design, however, I see a need of some type of lifting mechanism attached to the unit, or the wall. There will some demographic groups: seniors, or people with limited mobility who wouldn’t be able to stand up after using the toilette.
On the health monitoring side, could this new toilette have a catching tray of some sort , or a measuring bar like a thermometer to record a specimen of the fecal matter that would give the user a flash reading on a screen for his/her monitoring. ie, protein in urine, etc.
Just saying..

zzipper9 December 2013

I would like them to look at ADA needs as well.

Kim Hearn9 December 2013

The wellbeing model certainly has the best concept regarding proper anatomical position. I’ve been wanting to design a new toilet for years with this in mind. The basic toilet, or even chairs and tables, today do not take into account the added stress to the bodies of short people. I have my children use a stool to support their feet while on the toilet, as do I. At a mere 5 feet, my feet have dangled from every sitting position. It adds strain to my back and hips. What relief I feel when I sit in a child-sized chair! Just having the support of the floor makes a world of difference. I think what is missing from the wellbeing toilet design, though, is a more secure place for your feet, like notches, and potentially, a way to adjust that foot position for size and flexibility. If you want something new like this to become mainstream, it has to be more versatile. The idea of hanging in the air may have to be altered also. Think of sitting in a deep chair instead, with a low, cupped bowl that easily covers all angles. Don’t forget that women are not as neat and direct as men while urinating. The world needs a serious toilet revision. Keep up the good work!

[...] a competition that was put on by the U.K.-based plumbing company Dyno-Rod Drains. The objective? To design “the toilet of the future” and help “raise awareness on how we can upgrade the current 130 year old flush toilet to one [...]

dscogin9 December 2013

When nature calls while out in the woods I usually find a strong enough sapling and grab hold, squat down and rock backwards. The sapling makes for a nice handle, relieves some of the stress on my knees and makes standing back up easier. Maybe these squat toilets just need a handy sapling in front of them…!